What encouraged me to become a food stylist

My parents are caterers, so I have grown up around food, cooking and entertaining.

One of my fondest memories is going to visit my mum in the kitchen when I was younger. She had me peeling quail's eggs, making sandwiches, and bundling cutlery to earn my pocket money.

After working with them I knew that I wanted a career within food, though not necessarily in catering. Since then, I completed a 6 month intensive cordon-bleu programme at Tante Marie in Woking in order to expand my culinary skills. And it was there that I met food stylist Rebecca Woods who introduced me to this particular line of work.

After finishing cooking school, I worked in a restaurant for a few months and then assisted Rebecca on a cookbook. I really enjoyed working on this project and it was this that enticed me to try and obtain more work in this area.

What do I do on a daily basis

For the last few years, I have been assisting many amazingly talented food stylists in London, seeking to master the art and organisational skills required for the job. Food styling is far more technical than it seems, with different challenges constantly coming up.

I have been assisting in a mixture of TV commercials, advertising still life shoots, film sets, cookbooks, and recipe videos.

As an assistant, you must ensure that the food stylist has everything prepped and ready for each shot, that all the ingredients are available, cook the recipes, cook up a variety of products, shop, and generally help organise and support the food stylist.

Recently I have undertaken more of my own styling jobs, sometimes with my own assistant too. I ensure the client's brief is completed in a timely manner by sourcing produce, writing and testing recipes and ideas, prepping ahead of the shoot, and cooking and styling on set - sometimes in very challenging environments with limited space for example.

Why I enjoy food styling so much

Because every job is so unique with different people and different challenges. I feel like I am continuously learning something new and developing my culinary skills.

I get to experiment with different foods and colours, with food presentation too, and assist in other shoots while also learning from the best in the industry.

How I met Jason, the food photographer

I met Jason through his agent Sharon at Piccallo.

I have worked with a couple of her photographers in the past, and she said I should definitely work with Jason. Sharon thought we would get along very well, and my work would benefit from his amazing photography - she was right!

It's is an experience working with Jason, food styling with an experienced food photographer as you expand your food styling skills through the lens of a food photographer

I'm always looking to improve and learn as much as possible in food styling as every job is different and you need versatile skills for any emergency situation on the job.

Favourite food styling project

It is hard to pick one as I have been on so many exciting projects that I loved. The one that stands out for me was last Christmas when I made three houses out of charcuterie for a deli company.

It was so enjoyable as I could be really creative and have fun with what I was creating!

What is the hardest part of being a food stylist?

You have to get it right on the night! There's no room for mistakes.

I feel that there is little room for error on the job, and if something is not quite right then you have to be able to find a solution as quickly as possible.

Even though the job is demanding, I still love it. No job is an easy job.

The finished result of the food photography.

Any advice for mere mortals to make the image of their food look better?

Use the freshest and best looking produce you can find. This will undoubtedly help your photos sing. I think it is easier to work with food when it already looks beautiful which is why Instagram images look very good without much effort.

Also, some more advice is to not cook your vegetables for too long! You want to make sure that they look vibrant and with cooking them too much they lose their colour.

Finally, stay authentic - sometimes we try to make things look too perfect and placed. Keeping things relaxed and natural is usually preferable.

Food Stylist Sophie Hammond working with Jason Spoor.